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Highlights From the de Blasio Inauguration

By The New York Times January 1, 2014 11:19 amJanuary 1, 2014 11:19 am

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Mayor Bill de Blasio, and his wife, Chirlane McCray, waved to the crowd when they walked onto the stage at his inauguration.Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Bill de Blasio was sworn in as the 109th mayor of New York City on Wednesday, a few minutes after midnight, but his formal inauguration ceremony on the steps of City Hall began at noon. Times reporters and photographers arrived early to capture the scene, and will continue to cover the event.

Bill de Blasio was sworn in as New York’s 109th mayor at a ceremony on a frigid day outside City Hall. Mr. de Blasio and those who spoke before him touched many times on the central themes of his campaign, including inequality and diversity. Prominent guests and New Yorkers are now lining up to meet the new mayor at City Hall. He will then attend a reception.

Mayor Bill de Blasio shook hands with former President Clinton at City Hall on Wednesday.Credit Todd Heisler/The New York Times

Former President Bill Clinton delivered a passionate endorsement of Mr. de Blasio’s vision for New York City, denouncing economic inequalities across the country and the world.

Mr. Clinton said inequality was not only a “moral outrage” but an impediment to economic growth and tackling large problems like climate change.

“We can’t get away from each other,” he said. “We have to define the terms of our dependence.”

Mr. Clinton embraced Mr. de Blasio’s biracial family as a symbol of “the future of our city and the future of our country.”

“With all respect to the television show,” he said, “they’re our real modern family.”

Mr. Clinton also offered a word of praise for former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, whose legacy had been assailed by several speakers over the course of the ceremony. “He leaves a city stronger and healthier than he found it,” he said.

In the series, she and her family — her parents and seven siblings — were living in a decrepit room in a homeless shelter in Brooklyn.

On Wednesday, Letitia James, the new public advocate, called upon Dasani to hold the Bible while she was being sworn in. Dasani, wearing a coat with fur around the collar, a pink scarf and pink gloves, held the Bible at about the level of her eyes, looking happy but slightly nervous, chewing gum as she solemnly watched Ms. James take the oath of office.

Afterwards, Ms. James held Dasani’s hand during her speech, and referred to her as her “new BFF.” She pledged to stand up with Dasani to fight against poverty and homelessness in the city.

After finishing her remarks, Ms. James gave Dasani a fist bump, and threw her arm around her as they walked back to their seats.

— Kate Taylor— An earlier version of this post provided an incorrect age for Dasani Coates. She is 12, not 11.

Scott M. Stringer was sworn in as comptroller on Wednesday.Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

It’s not easy to win an election. But how hard is it to take the oath of office while your toddler is fussing and threatening to reach for the microphone?

As Scott M. Stringer, the new comptroller, raised his left hand, his older son, Max, whom his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, was holding on her hip, squirmed and seemed to register a few inaudible objections. (His younger son, Miles, in a snuggie on Ms. Buxbaum’s chest, was more cooperative.)

But Mr. Stringer managed to get through his oath. Afterward, he joked of Max, “He’s not quite ready for a television commercial yet, but we’re working on it.”

Harry Belafonte, the singer and an early supporter of Mr. de Blasio’s mayoral campaign, began the ceremony by calling on New Yorkers to support the mayor’s liberal vision for the city.

“New Yorkers should ensure our mayor he will not stand alone in facing the naysayers of progress in our midst,” he said.

Speaking slowly and with a strikingly weak voice, Mr. Belafonte denounced what he called a “Dickensian justice system” in the city, pointing to the Police Department’s stop-and-frisk policy. He spoke just a few steps away from one of the tactic’s most ardent backers, former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg.

Echoing a sentiment shared by many of Mr. de Blasio’s supporters, Mr. Belafonte said the mayor could inspire a revival of liberalism across the country. “We can become America’s DNA for the future,” he said.

The city’s new comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, who was first to be sworn in at the inauguration, brought out children when he came to the podium.

Mr. Stringer had gone out of his way to align himself with Mayor Bill de Blasio’s political platform of dedicating government to the goal of reducing inequality, vowing to guard the city’s fiscal stability while also fighting homelessness, protecting civil rights and educating the city’s children.

“Pursuing a progressive agenda and being fiscally responsible is not mutually exclusive,” Mr. Stringer, the former Manhattan borough president, said in prepared remarks. “We can and we must do both.”

He thanked Mr. de Blasio “for giving voice to those who for too long have had none and for demanding that we must again be a city where working people can afford to pursue their dreams, and where aspiration and opportunity must walk hand in hand.”

He also pledged to use his position overseeing the city’s pension funds to push companies around the country on issues of workplace safety, environmental sustainability and diversity.

As elected officials gathered in the cold outside City Hall to inaugurate the new mayor, Bill de Blasio, another political race was still very much ongoing: the one for Council speaker, arguably the city’s second most powerful position. And the politicking didn’t stop for the festivities.

The race is down to two people, Melissa Mark-Viverito and Daniel Garodnick, both of Manhattan. The 51 council members will elect the new speaker on Jan. 8.

Mr. de Blasio has thrown his political weight behind Ms. Mark-Viverito, and thanks in part to his influence, she now has the support of 30 of her colleagues. Mr. Garodnick has the support of 19 council members, and of the Democratic leaders of the Queens and the Bronx.

Mr. Garodnick arrived early to schmooze with his colleagues in their seating section. He hugged and had a long conversation with Helen Rosenthal, who is supporting Ms. Mark-Viverito.

Asked what it was like to have the inauguration overshadowed by the still unsettled race, Mr. Garodnick joked, “It turns out this is just about the best place to meet voters” – meaning, of course, his 50 colleagues.

“We’ve got seven days to go,” he added. “This is the moment.”

When Ms. Mark-Viverito arrived, wearing a bright red coat, she was immediately pulled away by a producer for NY1. Onscreen, she defended herself against assertions that she would be too indebted to the mayor to be independent from him. She said that there were issues on which she and the mayor disagreed, including outer-borough taxis (which Mr. de Blasio opposes in their current form) and former mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s proposed soda ban (which Mr. de Blasio supports).

One of the major players in the race, Assemblyman Carl Heastie, the Democratic leader of the Bronx, said that for the day he was putting aside his battle with Mr. de Blasio over the speaker’s race.

“I’m here for the inauguration,” he said, declining to answer a question about the race. “I’m here to congratulate the mayor, the public advocate, and the comptroller on their elections. We’ll worry about that other stuff tomorrow.”

But in a sign that being on the mayor’s side might confer some advantages, Frank Seddio, the Democratic leader of Brooklyn, who shortly before Christmas threw his support to Ms. Mark-Viverito, was seated in the front row, near key supporters of Mr. de Blasio like George Gresham, president of New York City’s largest union, Local 1199 of the Service Employees International Union.

Asked about his prime position, Mr. Seddio smiled. “I guess some people felt that I deserve some recognition,” he said.

DJ M.O.S. selected some of the music before the inauguration ceremony.Credit Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

From her seat in one of the back rows of Bill de Blasio’s inauguration, Justina Taylor, a 16-year-old from the Bronx, belted out lyrics to Jay-Z and Katy Perry.

“This is my kind of inauguration,” she said.

The hip-hop beats and free-styling D.J. at Mr. de Blasio’s inauguration brought a different tone to the traditionally staid event. For the occasion, Mr. De Blasio chose a D.J. well known in the nightclub circuit, M.O.S.

Justina’s father, Bill Taylor, said he thought the casual vibe of the pre-ceremony music set a good tone for the festivities. “It’s what the city is actually like,” he said. “This is New York.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio and his son, Dante, greeted supporters at City Hall on Wednesday.Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times

Mr. de Blasio had a question for a trusted friend on the day he would be inaugurated as New York’s new mayor: Can you believe it?

Mr. de Blasio was reflecting on his unlikely ascension to the top of city government with Patrick Gaspard, a longtime friend who is now the United States ambassador to South Africa.

Mr. Gaspard took a 16-hour flight from Johannesburg to be at the inauguration with Mr. de Blasio, whom he calls his brother of 25 years, since their days in the Dinkins administration. In an interview, Mr. Gaspard said Mr. de Blasio was excited for the day but more interested in governing.

“He’s just ecstatic about the moment, but he’s more about what happens when he walks in at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow,” Mr. Gaspard said.

Mr. Gaspard said Mr. de Blasio had set out to make his speech echo the themes of his campaign, including his criticism of inequality in the city. “He hasn’t changed a bit. He cares deeply about sharing prosperity and that will be his priority,” he said.

Before the inauguration was to begin, unmistakable toe-tapping, and even the occasional full body sway, could be seen among the crowd of lawmakers, power players, and other ticketholders looking for a way to keep warm.

From a booth beside the stage, DJ M.O.S — headphones on, head bopping — showered attendees with an array that included Stevie Wonder, the Commodores, and “Blame It on the Boogie,” made famous by the Jacksons, as well as a series of dance club hits like “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk.

Older rock takes, like “Glory Days” by Bruce Springsteen and “Don’t Do Me Like That” by Tom Petty, also shared the spotlight.

Representative Carolyn Maloney was among those impressed with the groovy tone.

“This music!” she exclaimed happily. “You’d never hear this with Giuliani or Bloomberg.”

With the ceremony nearing around 11:45 a.m., DJ M.O.S. turned to the Bruno Mars hit “Treasure.”

As Mr. de Blasio took the stage before noon, shaking hands and greeting well-wishers, DJ M.O.S. unfurled an eclectic mix that included “Native New Yorker,” “Empire State of Mind” and “Roar,” by Katy Perry.— Matt Flegenheimer

Mayor Bill de Blasio rode the subway to City Hall with his family on Wednesday.Credit Uli Seit for The New York Times

Mayor Bill de Blasio had arrived with his family at the subway station beneath the Municipal Building, across the street from a packed City Hall plaza awaiting his arrival, when a familiar face strode over to greet him at 11:37 a.m.

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Mayor Bill de Blasio met Michael R. Bloomberg on the subway platform on Wednesday.Credit Nate Schweber for The New York Times

It was Michael R. Bloomberg, private citizen.

The two shook hands and embraced.

“How does it feel to be a free man?” the new mayor asked.

Mr. Bloomberg greeted each member of the de Blasio family, then turned back to Mr. de Blasio and confided a lesson, should Mr. de Blasio go on to enjoy another inauguration someday:

“You never forget your first one.”

With that, Mr. Bloomberg was done. “O.K., what’s now?” he said to a companion.

The former mayor turned, walked off, and left the de Blasios on the platform.

People waited in line to enter the gates of City Hall.Credit Michael Appleton for The New York Times

With New Year’s Eve stragglers still stalking the sidewalks, leaving plastic party hats in their wake, Lower Manhattan residents awoke on Wednesday to find not just a new mayor, Bill de Blasio, but a new neighbor — and a sprawling operation preparing to welcome him.

By 9 a.m., the national anthem had been performed at least twice by a high school choir inside the gates of City Hall. Chairs were lined across the plaza. A few well-connected guests, clutching folded papers, began slipping through side entrances.

Carlos Molina, 53, who lives a short walk away, on Spruce Street, passed the building around 8:45 a.m. with his dog, Charlie. He hoped to avoid the crowds on Wednesday, but expects to see more of the new mayor than he did of the old one.

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